Evaluating The Functional Areas Of Management

Strategy is a set of complicated tactics formulated by the executives of a company directed towards the achievement of company’s goal (Salmela, 2002). It is about all the path ways that a company would follow to reach its ultimate goal. It is a company’s strategy which helps to identify what it does better than the other companies in the industries, which may be different from what it does best. For successful strategy formulation and implementation, a company should know the needs of customers and should have knowledge of its competitors. Through a good strategy a company would identify that opportunity which makes it different from the others (Thompson, 2005).

Strategy is not only a tool for outfoxes the competition but also an incredible means for creating and shaping a company

Strategy refers to a course of action that is adopted by an organisation in order to achieve its set goals and objectives. According to Mintzberg and Water (1985) strategy can either be deliberate or emergent depending on whether the course of action taken by the organisation is articulated and communicated to the whole organisation or whether the course of action was not explicitly intended. Mintzberg categorizes Strategy as a deliberate, rational and sequential planning process if the course of action is well thought prior to implementation, articulated, communicated to members of the organisation, and a clear plan of action is established. However, it is worth

“A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den” it’s an old traditional Chinese proverb. The same applies to strategy. In this fast growing and dynamically changing business world a single strategic plan won’t suffices lifetime for any industry. To be strategic means to have a foresight. Defining an objective and achieving it by going against the hurdles. It is difficult for an organisation to foresee into the future in this rapidly changing business world, problems such as globalisation, rigid organisational structures, new regulations every now and then, complex alliance and partnership. There are many different definitions for strategy. What I understand about Strategy is that it’s a long term directive to an organisation. Corporate strategy is termed as finding organisational objectives and goals and planning and action to achieve those objectives. Strategic planning is done by organisations keeping in mind few main areas. One is the external environment of the organisation is unpredictable, any new rules and regulation can be imposed. Next is an internal resource of the organisation, before making any future plans organisation must consider its internal resources. And thinking before adding new values to organisation to what it is today. (Clegg, 2011)

Alfred Chandler(1963) defines strategy as ‘ the determination of the long-run goals and objectives of an enterprise and the adoption of courses of action of an enterprise and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals’. And Michael porter(1996) sees it as ‘Competitive strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value’.

When talking about strategy, most people simply associate it with a long term direction and plan. In fact, the components and development of strategy are far more diversified and complicated than people normally imaged. In this essay, by an review and evaluation of different approaches to strategy, it critically discuss the current debates of different approaches and discuss whether the definition of Chandler(1962) is appropriate to apply to the organization today.

Strategy can be defined as a guide through whom organizations progress from the current state of affairs to a future desired state. Strategy is most importantly an effective tool used to forecast the future of a good organization rooted in long range plans. It makes a strong argument for an organization to effectively position itself within its constrain and environments, thereby maximizing its potential for flowing with the environmental changes. This makes it possible to adjust accordingly as circumstances in the environment change. Swayne, Duncan and Ginter (2008) simply affirm that it is a road map that defines an organization’s direction and how to get where it is intended

The definition of strategy has been given by many theorists. The most approve one for personal is stated by Johnson, Scholes and Whittington: “Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations.” (Johnson,

These business strategies must be developed in the context of the internal and external environments so that they are practical, or else they will remain a theoretical wish-list.

A strategy is said to be a plan that is made for the long term success of a product or brand. It is extremely important to have a strategy in order to figure out a direction towards which any company is able to focus all its resources efficiently and achieve desired outcomes. Formulating effective strategies is a considerably long process in itself that combines analysing several factors, situations and issues that are already present in a company and looking to improve on them alongside trying to implement various innovations and ideas to collectively create a direction towards which they can move and direct the resources available to them.

Strategy can be defined in various way by different experts in several field of studies. As stated by Grant and Jordan (2003), strategy is an instrument that allow person or operations to achieve their goals. Moreover, Mintzberg (1978, p. 935) defined that as “a pattern in a stream of decision”. Although it has a several meaning, the key concept of strategy which define by several experts shared the same point of view as tools whereby the firm or person used to fulfill their purposes.

With a fast economic development and an increasingly competitive marketing, it has demonstrated that a successful company has to performance effective strategies through the whole operation for its survival and development. As known to all, a strategy is a overall view, referring to the plans and actions a enterprise selects to achieve its goals, including “some planned and systematic consideration of how to remain or become successful in that business”, some “internal factors” and “external factors” (textbook, ). Additionally, Strategic management regards as how to formulate, implement and evaluate strategies through a series of managerial activities, strengthening an organisation’s core competences, (MGM foundation). In a company, it is usually considered as the key engine of how and where it should invest its resources.

This essay is on strategy and various challenges that an organization has to face in the process of developing and implementing a strategy. It is also explained how organizations have to come up with different strategies for different levels in the organization and how companies in the past have suffered because of inadequate strategies.

Strategy can be defined in different ways. According to Morley (2014) “Strategy is the expression of how the company is to achieve its objectives and an expression of its intent to achieve those objectives”.

Why every company needs a sound strategy to compete successfully, manages the conduct of its business, and strengthens its prospect for long-term success? A company’s Strategy consists of the competitive moves and business approaches that managers are employing to compete successfully, improve performance, and grow the business.